How to be Single, Review: Not this way, for sure

There is no success formula to being single, just as there is no magic prescription for being married. Time was when you were either single or married. Time is when you could be single, married, twice married, thrice married, nth time married, divorced, nth time divorced, undergoing trial separation, in a relationship, into one-night stands…. But the title of this film indicates that is about persons who are single, so let’s keep it to that. Single! Simple? Anything but simple! Ask me. I have always been single, but did I miss a trick somewhere? Will this film help me attain greater happiness in my ‘singledom’? Let’s find out, over the next110 minutes.

After four years of college, young Alice (Dakota Johnson) decides she needs a break from her long-term boy-friend Josh (Nicholas Braun). Excited and ready for new challenges, the eager graduate moves to New York, to take a job as a paralegal in a law firm. Helping her navigate her way through an unfamiliar city is Robin (Rebel Wilson), a fun-loving, wild co-worker, who enjoys partying and one-night stands, a free spirit trying to juggle booze, drugs and sex.

With Robin as her free-wheeling guide, Alice can now learn how to get free drinks, meet men and enjoy the single lifestyle, be it a love connection, a hook-up, or something in the middle.

In 2008, Liz Tuccillo published her debut novel, How to Be Single; film rights were also bought the same year, by New Line Cinema, and Drew Barrymore and Nancy Juvonen were on board to produce the film. Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein were set to adapt the novel. In 2011, it was announced that Barrymore would also be directing, but they finally settled for Christian Ditter.

39 year-old German director Christian Ditter (Verzaubert, Grounded Vorstadtkrokodile, Wickie and The Treasure of The Gods, French for Beginners and Love, Rosie) has helmed this outing. Having seen Love, Rosie, and having not loved it, I am sad to see that How to Be Single is even less appealing. It has many laughable jokes and catchy one-liners, some crude, yet striking a chord, confessionals and two or three clever plot twists. Somehow, they just don’t add up. He keeps you wondering where he is taking you next. That’s fine if you are watching a suspense thriller, but confounding when it is a narrative, with at least seven main characters. There is little to like in most of the characters, and not much to hate either.

After reading the synopsis of Liz Tuccillo’s book, it would appear that a substantial amount of liberties have been taken in converting it to a screen story. First to work on the novel were Abby Kohn (Master of Fine Arts in film production from the University of Southern California) and Marc Silverstein. The duo is known for Never Been Kissed, He's Just Not That into You, Valentine's Day and The Vow. Both are married. (Silverstein and wife Elizabeth ‘Busy’ Philipps’ daughter is called Cricket!). It is a happy con-incidence that the writers of Valentine Day have a new release on that very day this year. Didn’t make a difference in terms of product quality, though. I wouldn’t want this film to be my Valentine date.

The producers found Kohn and Silverstein’s script a PG 13 plot. So, in comes Dana Fox, Stanford graduate and writer of Couples Retreat, What Happens in Vegas, The Wedding Dana, who is married to a much younger man and the couple have three children. Having been through the dating scene herself, Fox decided that instead of focussing so much on the romance, the film should look at the time between relationships. She told a magazine, “This is a movie about people talking about sex, and if they can’t talk the way people talk then it, doesn’t work. If you are going to talk about sex, then you have to go at it from a real R-rated angle.” No issues with that. In sync approach is great. Superficiality is not.

A blend of sexy, conscious and confused is Dakota Johnson (Fifty Shades of Grey—denied a censor certificate in India, Need for Speed, Black Mass). Rebel Melanie Elizabeth Wilson (Bridesmaids, Pitch Perfect, Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb), Australian stand-up comic, 35 going on 36, with a pointless controversy brewing in relation to her age, is clearly wasted. Though she is talented enough to sail through, the strain begins to show. India has a Rebel Wilson of its own, called Bharati, a stand-up comedienne, who has yet to crack the big screen.

Leslie Mann (The Cable Guy, 40 Year-old Virgin, Knocked Up, George of the Jungle) as Meg, the gynaecologist (de rigueur in a subject like this, I should think) with hang-ups, is affected and her dialogue delivery needs improvement. Damon Wayans Jr. (The Other Guys, Someone Marry Barry, Let's Be Cops) as David, the wealthy widower and single parent, known for comedy, carries a melodramatic part with some élan. Anders Holm (TV comedy, The Interview, The Intern, Unexpected) as Tom, the barman, is zestful. Nicholas Braun (The Perks of Being a Wallflower, At Middleton, Date and Switch, Poltergeist, Freaks of Nature) is Josh, with looks that are wall-flowerish and match those of Jugal Hansraj (former Indian child-star turned director) +Dev Patel. Alison Brie (Sleeping with Other People, Get Hard, Search Party, No Stranger Than Love) plays Lucy, a character Fox found easy to delineate, having been through the online dating game herself, though Lucy did not ever indulge in it.

Up in the second para, the synopsis said that something about ‘something in the middle’.

You are not likely to find anything worthwhile in the middle, except muddle.

And did I find some useful tips on being single and really happy?

Want to guess?

Rating: *1/2

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrDI4-BSovs

The book

On a brisk October morning in New York, Julie Jenson, a single, thirty-eight-year old book publicist, is on her way to work when she gets a hysterical phone call from her friend Georgia. Reeling from her husband's announcement that he is leaving her for a samba teacher, Georgia convinces a reluctant Julie to organize a fun girls' night out with all their single friends to remind her why it is so much fun not to be tied down. But the night, which starts with steaks and martinis and ends with a trip to the hospital, becomes a wake-up call for Julie. Because none of her friends seems to be having much fun right now: Alice, a former legal aid attorney, has recently quit her job to start dating for a living; Serena is so busy becoming a fully realized person that she can't find time to look for a mate; and Ruby, a curvy and compassionate woman, has been mourning the death of her cat for months. So, fed up with the dysfunction and disappointments of being single in Manhattan, Julie quits her job and sets off to find out how women around the world are dealing with this dreaded phenomenon. From Paris to Rio to Sydney, Bali, Beijing, Mumbai, and Reykjavik, Julie falls in love, gets her heart broken, sees the world, and learns more than she ever dreamed possible. Back in New York, her friends are grappling with their own issues -- bad blind dates, loveless engagements, custody battles, and single motherhood. Through their journeys, all these women fight to redefine their vision of love, happiness, and a fulfilled life.

The author

Liz Tuccillo was an executive story editor of HBO's Emmy-winning Sex and the City, and has also written for Off Broadway. She has co-written two books with Greg Behrendt, He’s Just Not That into You (filmed in 2009), and its sequel. Currently, she is living and dating in New York City. (From the Simon and Schuster website).